Who We Are

Principal Investigator

Carrie Oser
Carrie Oser, PhD, is the DiSilvestro Endowed Professor in the Department of Sociology, Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET), and a faculty affiliate of the Center on Drug & Alcohol Research (CDAR) at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Oser is passionate about conducting rigorous high-impact research to improve the lives of individuals with substance use disorders, especially among underrepresented populations. She has been continuously funded as a Principal Investigator for over a decade by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has published findings in over 100 peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.
Email: carrie.oser@uky.edu
Phone: 859.257.6890

Co-Investigators

Michele Staton
Michele Staton, PhD, MSW, is a Professor in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science and a Faculty Associate of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. Her research focuses on increasing access to treatment and evidence-based interventions for justice-involved individuals during the transition from incarceration to the community. She has published in the areas of substance use disorder treatment for people involved the justice system, risk-reduction interventions for justice-involved women, and health disparities in rural Appalachia.

Hannah Knudsen
Hannah Knudsen, PhD, is Professor of Behavioral Science in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and a faculty member in the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. As a health services researcher and implementation scientist, Dr. Knudsen’s research focuses on the implementation of evidence-based practices for substance use disorders (SUD) in a variety of organizational contexts. She has completed large national studies focused on adoption and implementation of medications for SUD, and she is currently collaborating on multiple projects focused on addressing the opioid epidemic.

Brea Perry
Brea Perry, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Sociology, the Sociomedical Sciences Research Institute, and the Network Science Institute at Indiana University. Her research investigates the interrelated roles of social networks, biomarkers, social psychology, and social inequality as cause and consequence of health and illness. She authored the first comprehensive book on ego network methodology (2018, Cambridge University Press), and has received funding from multiple National Institutes of Health, including NIA, NIDA, and NIDCR, as well as the National Science Foundation and several charitable foundations. She is also a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholar (2019-2022).

Research Project Manager

Evan Batty
Evan holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from Colorado State University and is currently a PhD candidate in the Sociology Department at the University of Kentucky. His research experiences have been diverse and include environmental health, stigma, health disparities, treatment seeking and healthcare utilization, and substance use disorders.
Email: evan.batty@uky.edu
Phone: 859.562.2797

GATE Research Personnel

Marisa Booty
Marisa Booty is a doctoral student in the Sociology Department at the University of Kentucky and a graduate research assistant within the Criminal Legal System Workgroup on the HEALing Communities Study. She received her Masters in Health Science from the Mental Health department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research interests involve the intersection of the criminal legal system with substance use disorder and treatment, as well as in the implementation of harm reduction strategies in criminal legal system venues.

Michael Evces
Michael holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa, where he conducted fieldwork and data analysis in the College of Public Health. He has worked with the Substance Abuse Program in the Boyle County Detention Center, where he taught GED classes for program participants. Prior to coming to work at UK, he spent several years as a private caregiver for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Email: Michael.evces@uky.edu
Phone: 859.407.0460

Grace Farish
Grace has a BA in Anthropology (2019) and a BFA in Art Studio with a minor in Visual Studies (2021). Their artistic work is explored through lens-based mediums and focuses on soft traumas within the family unit and explores what it means to exist within a family. Grace’s anthropological work focuses on culture and what it means to be human; combining the worlds of social science and art has allowed them to view the world through a variety of lenses.
Email: grace.farish@uky.edu
Phone: 859.221.8948

Destiney MacLean
Destiney graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2021 with a BA in Sociology and Psychology. While in undergrad she conducted data collection working with individuals with substance use disorders. She also held an internship in the UK Clinic for Emotional Health. Destiney plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology after spending some time working in the field. Her research interests include substance use disorders, harm reduction, and forensic psychology. When she’s not working, you’ll find her hiking with her two dogs Pepper and Banner.
Email: destiney.maclean@uky.edu
Phone: 859.407.0443

Maria Rockett
Maria holds a master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Cincinnati and is currently a PhD student in the Sociology Department at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests relate to the intersection of health equity and the environment and participatory action research methodologies. Maria also carries experience working within various medically underserved communities through her AmeriCorps service and as a licensed mental health counselor.

Roy Tapp
After a successful military career, Roy earned a PhD (Teaching & Learning) from the University of North Dakota. Served as an administrator managing five prison schools offering degree-level, vocational, and adult education credentials with the Kentucky Department of Corrections and the Fayette County Detention Center for 24 years. He has shared his local and state-level experiences via publishing, as well as having taught criminal justice courses at Midway University and the Bluegrass Community/Technical College.